Wemy Industries begins massive expansion with N3bn war chest
Wemy Industries Limited, Nigeria’s first and only indigenous manufacturer of diapers, has begun massive expansion, having already secured $10 million (N2 billion) from one of its partners. The firm is also in line to obtain $5 million (N1 billion) from one of the country’s development banks.
“We have secured machines from abroad, which could take a few months to arrive,” said Adedoyin Paul Odunaiya, managing director, Wemy Industries, at the 2015 Distributors’ Forum organised by the firm last Thursday in Ikeja, Lagos.
“We will soon get a gas-powered generator and will install gas pipelines to help cut our costs by 43 percent,” Odunaiya said at the forum, which brought together distributors from different parts of the country.
Wemy Industries, founded in 1978, is a manufacturer of adult, feminine and baby diapers and other products, sold under the popular Dr Brown’s and Nightingale brand names. The firm has an annual turnover of $15 million and targets growing revenue to $1 billion within a decade.
It has a number of advantages, being the only indigenous player operating in the large space. Again, it is innovating and expanding at a time the federal government is planning to steer many players in the manufacturing sector through home-grown incentives. The firm believes that Nigeria must begin to think like China which encourages productivity and job creation through the creation of a convivial investment atmosphere.
“What they do in China is to set up factories everywhere,” the MD told Real Sector Watch.
“We believe, like the Chinese, that we should dominate the Nigerian market, being the only indigenous producer of diapers,” the Wemy MD said.
“But we feel it is time the government banned all the diapers coming into the country from all over the place. We had a ban before and it made a positive impact on us and we are saying that the government should protect the local industry by banning all these products,” he said.
He further said that in the absence of placing diapers on the Prohibition List of the Nigeria Customs Service, the federal government could raise the tariff to make import more expensive and unattractive to the local consumers.
The Wemy CEO further said that the company is now diversifying in order not to be hit by headwinds.
“We are not only a diaper company. By diversifying, we are safeguarding our business for tomorrow. We also have plans to expand to other countries. We are trying to expand to Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Chad and other countries,” he disclosed.
There was an excitement when Odunaiya disclosed the firm’s plans to list in the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
“We plan to list the business in the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 48 months,” he said, adding that the company now wants to bring in other interested people to become shareholders, as this is the only way the business can outlive its owners.
There was also an excitement when he announced a reduction in the price of underlay pads for distributors. According to him, the company is setting up a non-executive board, as well as depots in various parts of the country to reduce logistics costs.
He pointed out that teamwork involving Wemy and distributors would produce positive results.
A distributor in Owerri, Imo State, Dozie Anadebe, who is managing director of Diapers & Kiddies, told Real Sector Watch that the firm must work on its visibility, while calling on the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to check the activities of fakers.
“Once in a while, we have people who bring in fake products. And before you can get to find out, they will have entered the market. If you look at the diaper market, Nigeria has been a dumping ground such that anybody with between three to five million can bring in as many as they want. This has to be checked,” Anadebe said.
ODINAKA ANUDU